constellations of their own making
by perfectlyrose
Summary: Rose is about ready to have a go at the bloke who keeps interrupting her astronomy professor's lectures. Things do not at all go the way she plans when they finally have words. Perhaps the stars they're both studying have something different in mind for the pair. (Ten/Rose University AU)


This was written for the lovely rosetvler on tumblr from a prompt she gave me long ago: "I take my grades very seriously and you're the lazy asshole who asks a ton of off-topic questions to distract the professor and I might be a foot shorter than you but I swear to god I'll fight you AU; where Rose is the serious student and Ten/John Smith is the know-it-all."

* * *

Rose was fairly sure she was going to strangle someone. Preferably the bloke in the front row of her astronomy class who kept asking the professor questions that were completely off-topic. Oh, they were still about astronomy, just not about the astronomy they were supposed to be learning and would be tested over. It had been endearing at first. The guy was obviously in love with the night sky and all the science that accompanied learning it but it hadn't taken long before Rose was frustrated that he was preventing the professor from actually teaching.

It was only two weeks into the class and she was already struggling with the maths involved in the homework sets and whoever the tall bloke with wild hair was kept sidetracking the professor away from explaining the problems. She had no clue what he was doing in an introductory astronomy course when he obviously knew almost as much as the professor did. The bottom line was, he might not need the lectures but she did and her scholarship rested on how she did in her classes and there was no way in hell she was going to let him mess up her opportunity to get an education.

Rose was fuming by the end of class. Whoever this student was, she was going to give him a piece of her mind. It was two classes before the first exam and she had no idea what was going to be tested over and she hadn't learned anything relevant in the professor's tangent onto irregular orbits and the prevailing theories about black holes and it was all his fault. Him and his stupid suit wearing self.

Honestly, who wore suits to class anyways?

She waited outside the lecture hall, tapping her foot impatiently as she scanned the students pouring out waiting for him. A full minute after everyone else he finally emerged from the hall, beat up messenger bag slung over his shoulder and a smile playing around the edges of his mouth.

"Oi, we need to talk," Rose called. She uncrossed her arms and took a step towards him, causing him to stop in his tracks and look down at her in bewilderment.

"Do I know you?"

"No, but everyone in that class knows who you are because you don't ever shut up," Rose replied acidly.

He rocked back on his heels, smile playing over his face and infuriating Rose further. "Just trying to provide adequate discussion in class. Participation is important."

Rose didn't care that he was at least eight inches taller than her, she was going to fight the smug bastard.

"Not when you're keepin' everyone else from learning anything! It's an introductory astronomy class and your 'discussions' with the professor keep him from actually teaching everyone else what they need to know to be able to pass the tests."

"But the discussions Professor Collins holds once I ask questions are so much more fascinating than the assigned material. Wouldn't you rather know that there's literally alcohol in the center of our galaxy and how it could hold answers as to how complex organic molecules first formed?" The same excitement colored his voice that he had in class.

"No! I want to know what we're gonna be tested over! Unlike some people, I'm serious about my schoolwork and I need this class to keep my scholarship and I'm sure as hell not going to let some bloke with a big mouth ruin that for me!"

He opened his mouth and then closed it before reaching up to tug on his earlobe. "Have I really been that disruptive?"

"Yes," Rose said flatly.

He seemed to think about that for a few seconds before his hand moved to rub at the back of his neck. "I'm honestly only in the class to fill my schedule. I tested out of it a few semesters ago," he admitted sheepishly. "I was trying to make things more interesting for everyone, not interfere with the class."

"Well, you did," Rose shot back. He was rather adorable when he wasn't being smug but she wasn't going to let it distract her from giving him the dressing down he deserved. "The first test is next week and I still have questions about problem sets from week one that I never got to ask about because Professor Collins was too busy talking to you to explain the assignments."

"I um, I could tutor you," he stuttered out, suave confidence gone. "If you want, that is. I'm really rather good at explaining the basics and it's the least I can do for distracting Collins during class."

Rose was stunned. "You're seriously offering to teach me three weeks worth of material in the next week?"

"Yeah, I think we could do it."

"Seriously?"

"I offered, didn't I?" he asked testily.

"Yeah, but, blimey, I don't even know your name!" Rose pointed out. This whole situation had gone completely sideways and she had no clue how they'd ended up here.

"Right. I'm John Smith." He stuck out a hand.

Rose took it and shook it briefly, half smiling at the odd formal gesture this late in the conversation. "Rose Tyler."

She released John's hand and tucked a piece of hair back behind her ear as she looked up at him. "So, you're really going to teach me astronomy?"

"Looks like, Rose Tyler," he answered brightly, smile wide on his face. "This is going to be brilliant!"

She gave him a wary look. "You can't go off into tangents like you do in class. I wasn't kidding about needing to learn the material that's gonna be on the test."

John pouted for half a second before lighting up. "If I get you caught up before the test, can I tell you about some of the more interesting aspects of deep space?"

Rose couldn't help but giggle. "You know, that almost sounds like a line."

"No, no, I wasn't trying to," John rushed to say. "I just want to make astronomy more interesting. And that sounds like one too. You, Rose Tyler, just have your mind in the gutter." He shook an accusing finger at her as she continued to laugh.

"Guilty as charged," she admitted, tucking her tongue between her teeth as she smiled. It was oddly satisfying to see his gaze drop down to her mouth for a few moments. Nice for him to be the one involuntarily pulled off topic for once.

"Right, well, I have a lab in twenty so I better go," he stammered out. "We'll get started on your tutoring as soon as possible."

He started backing away as he talked and Rose called after him with another laugh. "I don't have any way to contact you!"

"Right!" He jogged back to her and gestured towards the mobile in her hand. She handed it over and he quickly entered his name and number before giving it back. "There, now you have my number. I'll be in the lab until five but am free after that if you want to get started tonight."

"I get off work at seven," Rose said. "I can meet up after that."

"Brilliant, just text me and we'll work out the details."

With that he flashed her a smile and took off down the hall, battered plimsolls slapping against the tile and messenger bag bouncing off his hip with every step.

Rose watched after him for a few seconds before turning to go down a different hallway. That had not gone as planned but the outcome was better than she could have hoped for. At the very least she was going to have an interesting study session with a rather fit bloke. A bloke who she'd wanted to strangle less than an hour ago but stranger things had certainly happened.

Besides, if he turned out to be a shite tutor she could return to her strangulation plans.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

As it turned out, John Smith was not a shite tutor. He was actually rather surprisingly good at teaching. He re-explained problems in a way that allowed Rose to connect all the dots herself and start actually understanding what the point was behind it all.

Rose passed the first exam with flying colors and when John offered to keep tutoring her for the rest of the semester, she took him up on it.

He still went off on tangents that were not test-relevant but Rose was growing rather fond of his rambling when they weren't on a tight schedule. She still wanted to strangle him sometimes, but she also considered him a good friend.

It was near the end of the semester and after innumerable study sessions, shared lunches, and movie nights that things started to change.

Text from John Smith [3:24 PM]: Plans for the night?

Rose smiled when she saw who the message was from and took a break from her lit reading to quickly type out a response.

Text from Rose Tyler [3:25 PM]: wine and crap telly. you got a better offer for me? ;)

Text from John Smith [3:25 PM]: Don't I always? Meet me outside the observatory around 7?

Rose wrinkled her brow in confusion. They'd both finished their observation hours for astronomy ages ago, why would he want to meet there?

Text from John Smith [3:27 PM]: Feel free to bring the wine :)

Text from John Smith [3:27 PM]: If you want

Text from Rose Tyler [3:28 PM]: i'll be there

Text from Rose Tyler [3:29 PM]: and i'm definitely bringing the wine

Rose had no clue what he was up to but the adventures that he occasionally dragged her into were always entertaining and she wasn't going to turn down the opportunity to go on another one. Reluctantly she returned to her reading, determined to get it finished before she was supposed to meet John.

Five minutes after seven Rose made it to the front of the observatory, bottle of wine stashed in the bag slung over her shoulder. She was expecting to beat John there since he was chronically late but he was already there and fidgeting with something in his hands.

She snuck up behind him, smile already forming on her face. "Why hello there, Doctor. Fancy meeting you here."

He jumped and spun around. "You know no one else calls me that, right?" He replied, grinning at her as she moved forward for a hug.

"That's just because they don't know that you dropped out of medical school to try and get a doctorate in astrophysics," Rose retorted after pulling back. "What do you even do with a doctorate in astrophysics?"

"Be impressive?"

"You're full of it."

"Don't tell me you're just figuring that out, Rose Tyler. I'm disappointed in you."

She laughed. "Wanker, I knew you were full of it before I knew your name."

"I was talking about being impressive," he said with a smirk and a wink.

"Full of it," Rose sing-songed. She bumped her shoulder against his. "So why are we at the observatory?"

John produced a set of keys from his pocket and dangled them in front of her face, causing her to look at them cross-eyed. "We're not staying at the observatory."

"Where we off to, then?"

"You'll just have to wait and see!" He hit a button on the key fob and the blue convertible at the front of the observatory car park beeped in response. "Come on, adventure awaits!"

Rose laughed and challenged him to a race to the vehicle. He won and vaulted over the door to take his place in the driver's seat.

"Okay, that was impressive," Rose admitted as she took the more conventional route of opening the door to take her seat. "Now, where in the world did you get a car."

"Borrowed it from a friend for the night," John answered vaguely as he turned the key in the ignition.

"Do you even have a license?"

He grinned at her instead of answering and abruptly took off.

Two hours and countless evaded questions as to their destination and ignored jabs at his driving, John finally pulled off the road. Rose looked around but the darkness offered no clue as to where they were or why John had brought them here.

"Where are we?"

John just offered an enigmatic smile and got out of the car to open the boot. Rose followed, a bit unnerved by his lack of answer. Usually the trick was getting him to shut up, not to coax him into talking.

"John…" she started.

"Just another minute and I promise I'll explain everything," he said looking at her with the puppy dog eyes she could never resist.

"You better."

He grabbed a couple of blankets from the boot and then slammed it closed. He stuck out his free hand and wiggled his fingers, inviting Rose to take it. She did, sliding her fingers into the spaces between his and holding on. It was something they'd done since the first time he'd taken her on one of his adventures and they'd ended up running from campus security and it felt the same now as it had then. It was warmth and comfort and it was the breathless rush of adrenaline.

She honestly had no idea how a simple connection of hands between friends could create such a mix of emotions but they did. She shook her head, smile hidden by the complete darkness as he tugged on her hand, leading her away from the road and into the field that was apparently their destination.

He stopped in the middle of the field and dropped her hand so he could spread one of the blankets on the ground.

"So, you going to explain now?" Rose asked as she helped arranged the blanket and set her bag down on one corner of it.

"This is tonight's adventure," John started, prompting a reply from Rose that that much was obvious, which he ignored. "This area is the best place for viewing the night sky within five hours of campus. We're far enough away from major cities that the light pollution is negligible. I just thought it might be nice to really see the stars after a semester of learning about them."

He sounded nervous and Rose was sad he couldn't see the grin that was spread across her face. "This is brilliant, John. Really."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

They laid down on the blanket and put the other one over them to ward off the chilly air. John pointed out some of the major constellations in an almost whisper, telling the stories that were connected to them.

"The stars are more than the math and science we apply to them," he said after he'd been quiet for a few minutes. "They're wonder and the unknown and they're beautiful. It's easy to forget sometimes when we get buried in equations and problem sets."

Rose turned over onto her side and propped herself up on an elbow so she could look down on him. The moon had risen, lending them a tiny bit of silver light to see each other by. "Do you know what my initial impression of you was, John?"

"That I talked too much?" He guessed, wrinkling his nose and looking displeased by the question.

"No," Rose said gently. "That came later. The first thing I thought was that you were obviously in love with the night sky. I loved your enthusiasm up until it interfered with me trying to learn. And I love seeing how much you still love the stars."

John took a deep breath, looking nervous again. "You know what I love most about them, right now?"

"What?"

"That they brought you into my life," he said quietly.

Rose sucked in a breath, stunned. "John Smith, it sounds like you're giving me a line again."

"Intentional this time, is it working?" His smile was shaky, fragile.

"I think it just might be," Rose whispered. The feelings caused by his hand slipping into hers were finally slotting into place and making sense in Rose's head. She'd been right about them not being the usual feelings caused by casual contact with a friend. She was halfway in love with John and she hadn't even realized she was falling until this moment in the starlight with him looking at her like she was a star in her own right.

Slowly, giving him time to move if he wanted to, Rose leaned down and brushed her lips over his in a gentle, experimental kiss. She pulled back, sucking her own tingling bottom lip into her mouth. Definitely an experiment to repeat, she decided.

John put one of his hands on the back of her neck, pulling her back down for another kiss after apparently reaching the same conclusion.

They spent another hour exploring each other's mouths and quietly talking about everything and nothing, as was their habit. He teased her mercilessly when they realized she had brought the wine but nothing to open it with. Warmth bloomed in Rose's chest as she realized that nothing had changed between them, what they had added to their relationship did not require anything to be eliminated in return.

Rose laced her fingers with John's as they took one last look up at the sky before walking back to the car. She was always reading about star-crossed lovers and lovers who had their destinies written in the stars but she'd never been one to believe in fate. She pressed her smile into John's shoulder and thought that she might just have to make an exception in her beliefs for the two of them. Maybe they were writing their own stories in the constellations.


End file.
